Full Series Official Star Wars Rebels Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

These shorts are supposedly not canon, right? (that's what I recall reading)

 

They're canon, we just won't be seeing them within the episodes themselves. They take place before Season 1. Basically think of them as 0 issues

 

I like the Zeb short. All of his lines–and most of Kanan's–were hilarious! And I love Zeb's combat skills. He's supposed to be this awesome warrior, so it's not that big of a deal to me that he's beating up these stormtroopers. My favorite lines:

Zeb: "I'm at the rendezvous point."
Kanan: "No you're not, because I'm at the rendezvous point."

Zeb: "I'm in an alley."

Zeb: "I'm definitely gonna be late."
Kanan: "Later. Later!"

Kanan: "Zeb, are you fighting stormtroopers?"
Zeb: "What makes ya say that?"
Kanan: "Because I hear blasterfire...and screaming."

(The last one I've loved ever since the Zeb reveal video.) I really, really love Zeb. This guy is fighting with Hera over my second-favorite character in the show behind Kanan.

 

I have to say, my hatred for Ezra has decreased after watching the 7 minute preview again. Zeb is the only character I cannot stand

 

Does not compute.

 

I dunno. I'm stuck between the banter sounding a bit corny and being fun. I guess that's what SW banter is supposed to be like though. Kanan is certainly growing on me with his attitude while Zeb looks like he may be a bit of a one trick pony going off to beat up on Imperials every time he sees them. I actually kind of like the backwater planet gets lowsy troops theory. Cuz yikes! The Xanatos doom squad was never that ineffective. They are like TCW battle droids. It would be kind of funny if these guys get into this mindset and soon run into good troopers they completely underestimate.

 

I'm secretly hoping this entire cast of characters is all a ruse, and the real cast has yet to be revealed.

Remember that episode of Monty Python when the race of giant space Blancmanges turns everyone into Scottsmen so they can win Wimbledon, and during the opening scroll where the narrator is saying "A billion billion galaxies, all with a billion billion stars..." and the camera is zooming in on two people (as if the story is about them), and then keeps panning passed them while they look surprised?

"But let us instead focus on this man...."

That's what I am hoping happens with this show.

 

I have to agree here... it think this is bordering on over the top. Practically every line in these shorts has been "witty" banter... Just makes the show too lite. I can just see ROTJ done in this style when the Trooper hits Leia in the arm:

Leia: Ahhhh
Han: Say, one of those guys actually hit you. (To the Trooper) Great shot! You must have spent some extra time at the practice range!
Leia: Ah, come on Han, give them a break. They have to hit something some time, don't they?
Han: How's the arm?
Leia: I'm good. Too bad the Stormtroopers don't know I'm left handed (Winks, puts the gun in her left hand and fires off a couple of shots)
Han & Leia: HAHAHAHAHA!

I was listening to a great interview with John Jackson Miller on the fantastic podcast Coffee With Kenobi (BTW if you enjoy listening to podcasts give this one a spin, it's great). He was talking about his upcoming novel "New Dawn" and said from what he had seen the tone of the show was even darker than Clone Wars just because of the era we are in. I have not seen any evidence of this at all. It's just one comic goofball moment after another.

Now granted these are short introductions and may not necessarily reflect the entire tone of the show, but if these shorts are in fact the way the rest of the show plays out., I'm not sure how there's any weight to these stories. I've yet to see the Stormtroopers do anything remotely sinister, they are just a bunch of jerks. I have a hard time buying thousands of citizens from across the galaxy joining an Alliance and risking their lives because a couple of Stormtroopers knocked over a fruit basket, or lightly shoved a person to the ground, or said something mean. Yes, it's a kids show, but you don't have to treat them like idiots... implied violence can go a long way toward making your point without being graphic.

Ultimately it's hard for me to get behind the notion of a galaxy wide Rebellion when the stakes, as presented in these shorts, are so low.


Yancy

 

Here we are:

+Bribe being rejected
+Zeb
+TIE fighter/pilot look nice
+Better dialogue
+Zeb's weapon

-I am already phenomenally tired of these moronic stormtroopers
-Vendor aggression, we get it. Enough already
-Jogan fruit again
-Restricred area! Looks pretty open to me
-I'm going to hold a gun while loudly asking for reinforcements instead of shooting the intruder immediately - OW!!!!!!
-Terrible animation of Zeb eating the fruit
-People need to stop surviving these explosions

 

Come and see the violence inherent in the system! Help, help I'm being repressed!

 

I suspect the stormtroopers come across weak to make the Inquisitor look more intimidating and fearful. In the behind scenes video, the team admit the Inquisitor is protected to ensure the heroes don't beat him every week; stormtroopers, therefore, are probably being used to give the heroes easy victories. That's my guess.

 

But they are supposed to be the most powerful military force in the galaxy. They're not supposed to look this incompetent...

 

US Marines would tear those stormtroopers apart.

They are not a credible fighting force.

 

Boy Scouts would tear those troopers apart...

 

One of the subplots in Rebels is Ezra trying to earn his slingshot badge. Dramatic stuff.

 

Seriously! The constant vendor/citizen nonsense? Ugh.

It's been in almost every video, yeah? The seven-minute "First Look," the Sabine clip (where the people actually clapped for her), the Zeb clip. Geesh!



And once again, the Stormtroopers proved entirely worthless. Now, to be honest, given Zeb's quickness, agility, strength -- just his overwhelming athleticism and training -- this is one time it may not have really rankled me much.

But then they go and use character dialogue to outright state how ridiculous the Imperials are, and then laugh about it.

"Zeb, are you embarrassing the Imperials, again?" "Honestly, Kanan, it's hard not to."

Now, taken on its own, it's a funny exchange. If the Stormies had been shown to be any kind of threat for everyone but Zeb, the dialogue would have served as a humorous, yet highly effective way of showing just how fierce Zeb is against his enemies.

The problem is, everyone has made the Stormtroopers look completely incompetent, so taking everything we've seen together, the line comes off as just another dig at these useless, empty-suited troops in Stormtrooper buckets.

Everyone - from Kanan, to Ezra, to Sabine, to Zeb (and when Hera leaves the cockpit, I'm certain she, too) - has joked about/dispatched the Stormtroopers with a minimum of effort. Honestly, when have we seen any sense of dread, threat or drama written on the faces of the heroes? When have they ever looked as though they were having anything but the time of their lives, dealing with the Imperial forces? Well, why shouldn't they be laughing it up? It's not as though they've faced any kind of real threat.

But then the question becomes, "If all they are doing is fighting a bunch of paper tigers, what makes our heroes special at all?"

The fact that they stood up to the schoolyard bully? Well, okay, but if that's all it really takes, then, as was already mentioned, not only does it make the Empire seem feeble, but the real danger is that it potentially starts to detract from the later gains of the Alliance in the OT, too, doesn't it?

Oh, yeah, the danger will come later, when Kallus and the Inquisitor show up. Meanwhile, Imperial Stormtroopers (and the TIE pilots, and the Imperial Officers) are made laughingstocks. One group of enemies shouldn't have to be made impotent, just to give another threat the appearance of gravitas.


Now, as in each and every clip we've seen, there are things I did really like.

But the way we've seen the Imperials depicted? I just plain don't like it.

But, then, I can only really comment on what we have seen, so far, and there is still so much to see. Hopefully the series, proper, will ratchet up the stakes, and we will see why the crew of the Ghost are worthwhile. I do have faith that things will get better. But from what I've seen so far? I have some reservations.

But even if I have come away rather nonplussed with some things, as ever, I remain hopeful!

 

I just fear every episode is going to end something like this (maybe NSFW?):

 

LOL! I'm hoping the episodes end like this:



Classic

Or maybe each episode can end in a rousing goofball chase with some funky tunes provide by one of the many Disney pop groups:

 

They really need to pick another fruit besides jogan fruit. Yes, we get it, people like their jogans, now make up some other fruit and use that as well.

 

Jogans are the primary export of Lothal. Or something.

 

Rebelscum.com: Hasbro: Star Wars: Rebels Mission Series Jedi Reveal Pack?

 

I wouldn't mind that.

 

It's an even bigger issue when we've just seen in the clone wars how effective the clone troopers are. I mean every episode they were in felt like actually watching a group of commandos. Watch the episode "Landing at Point Rain" and then compare it to the stormtroopers in the previews. There's barely any comparison between them. I know the stormtroopers in Rebels are probably not clones but they are their successors and must have at least a similar training.

 

The point of the previews is to show off the characters that they're focusing on, so of course the stormtroopers in them won't be much of a threat. I'm encouraged by what we saw in the 7 minute preview from the actual show - they lost to a terrorist strike rebel sneak attack, but they didn't look like complete morons either, just troops stationed in some backwater garrison.

 

Yeah, the Empire losing those crates in the 7 minute preview is actually pretty believable. Not to mention they put up quite a chase, with the two speeder troopers and then the TIE fighter. Although it seems like the rebels will be able to get all the crates, I feel that the Imperials put up a good effort and they don't look as stupid there.

I'm hoping that you're right in that the stormtroopers are idiots in these shorts just to showcase the characters. I'm gonna be pretty ticked off if every episode we get stormtroopers being just as stupid as in these shorts.